Chapter 448: No Matter What Difficulty It Is, You Can Come to Me

"I'm fine."

Yu Dazhang stopped Qu Tuotuo's movement and let her sit back down.

He could now be certain that he had definitely met this Zhou Dong before.

But given the other's wealth and status, they shouldn't have had any intersection with him.

They weren't from the same social class at all; there was no way any entanglement could have arisen between them.

Just as Yu Dazhang was considering other possibilities, Qu Tuotuo suddenly spoke up and asked:

"Uncle Zhou, where's Yingying? She's not home?"

The moment he heard the name "Yingying," Zhou Dong's expression changed instantly; his earlier composure vanished, and his look grew dim.

"Something happened to her." Zhou Dong's voice was somewhat hoarse:

"In the second year after you went abroad to study, she got into a car accident. Her head was severely injured, and she lost consciousness."

Hearing this, Qu Tuotuo shot up from the sofa, her eyes full of disbelief:

"Then, then right now she…"

She only got halfway through before she couldn't continue, and bad guesses came rushing in.

"Her life was saved." Zhou Dong raised his head to look at her, his face very grim:

"It's just that she can't wake up. Her condition is what's called a persistent vegetative state caused by diffuse brain damage."

After getting the definite answer, Qu Tuotuo froze on the spot, her eyes instantly reddening.

She sank back weakly onto the sofa, murmuring:

"No wonder, no wonder she stopped replying to my letters later. So something had happened."

Seeing that she wasn't doing well, Yu Dazhang reached out an arm around her shoulder and comforted her:

"A vegetative state isn't a terminal illness, and there are plenty of cases of people waking up from this kind of condition. Don't worry too much."

Perhaps his comfort worked; after a while, Qu Tuotuo raised her head and looked at Zhou Dong:

"Why did you hide the news of Yingying's injury? Even my dad didn't know."

She had been abroad at the time; if Qu Wannian had known, he would surely have told her.

"Not just your dad." Zhou Dong's eyes had also reddened:

"I didn't tell anyone. I always believed Yingying would wake up soon. Who knew that once she lay down, it would be two whole years."

After those words, the living room fell silent.

The atmosphere was oppressive; Zhou Dong and Qu Tuotuo both had their heads lowered, lost in thought.

This atmosphere made Yu Dazhang feel very uncomfortable too. He didn't know how to comfort them, so he could only hold Qu Tuotuo's hand and keep her company in silence.

After a moment, Qu Tuotuo said softly:

"Can I see her?"

"Of course." Zhou Dong agreed readily, then stood up and pointed upstairs:

"Follow me."

Yu Dazhang was a little uneasy and followed as well.

Upstairs, Zhou Dong led them to a room.

Pushing the door open and entering, the first thing that met their eyes was a large bed, on which lay a young girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Various medical devices were arranged around the room.

A woman in a nurse's uniform was standing in front of the equipment, watching the data on it.

This was basically an ICU ward built right into the house… Even with mental preparation, Yu Dazhang was still shocked by the scene before him.

Having money really does make one willful.

Just these high-end medical devices alone probably cost tens of millions.

No, tens of millions probably wouldn't be enough.

Yu Dazhang could even smell the scent of money in this room.

"Yingying!"

After entering the room, Qu Tuotuo went straight to the bedside, looking at the girl lying on the bed with reddened eyes:

"How could you…"

As she spoke, tears fell.

Yu Dazhang had just been about to step forward to comfort her when Zhou Dong stopped him. He pointed toward the door, signaling they should go outside to talk.

Once out in the hallway, Zhou Dong said with a smile:

"Qu Wannian is truly blessed with deep fortune, to have found himself such a fine son-in-law."

Yu Dazhang returned a smile:

"You know me?"

This time he changed the way he asked, switching from "met" to "know."

The other's words clearly carried a deeper meaning; one would need a certain amount of knowledge to give an evaluation like "fine son-in-law."

Since Zhou Dong wouldn't admit they'd met, he must have learned about Yu Dazhang through some other channel.

"Just heard about you, that's all." Zhou Dong fixed him with an appreciative gaze:

"Now in both the political and business circles of Songhai, who doesn't know about a new police officer who keeps cracking special cases? Once a person reaches a certain level, important information like that comes to you automatically."

"Is that so?" Yu Dazhang gave a faint smile:

"I didn't expect I was this famous now."

He naturally didn't believe the nonsense that came from a businessman's mouth, but he was interested to know the purpose of Zhou Dong calling him out here.

"Your Uncle Zhou here loves making friends most of all."

Zhou Dong suddenly changed the subject, his expression turning serious:

"If you run into trouble in the future, you can come find me. No matter what kind of trouble it is, I will definitely help you, and I will definitely be able to help."

I suspect you're cursing me… Yu Dazhang had long been immune to such pleasantries, but he still nodded and agreed:

"Sure thing, thanks in advance. Too bad there's nothing I can do for you in return."

Hearing such an ungracious remark, Zhou Dong didn't get angry—instead, he laughed.

He stared at Yu Dazhang with an almost greedy gaze, as if trying to see through every detail of him.

The moment Yu Dazhang noticed his look, Zhou Dong immediately looked away.

Why does it feel like he's lusting after my body… At that moment, Yu Dazhang suddenly felt a cold draft on the back of his neck, a chill rushing straight up along his spine.

This is no place to linger!

After a few more pleasantries, Yu Dazhang went inside and called Qu Tuotuo out.

After the two of them left the estate, Yu Dazhang couldn't help but ask:

"What does your Uncle Zhou do for a living? He seems even richer than your dad."

Setting everything else aside, just the place Zhou Dong lives in is not something an ordinary businessman could afford.

He had seen plenty of rich folk living in villas and luxury flats, but someone like Zhou Dong living in an actual castle—that was truly a first.

What's more, this castle was actually located in a city like Songhai.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he definitely wouldn't have believed it.

"His business is no longer limited to within the country," Qu Tuotuo replied:

"From what I know, his business spans at least a dozen or so countries, and the types of business are all over the map."

"Energy, mining, hotels—even pharmaceuticals."

"You could say he single-handedly built a business empire."

Sounds thrilling just hearing it… Yu Dazhang sighed inwardly.

He knew very well that the truly wealthy were never those on the rankings lists.

Businessmen come in many kinds too.

The very top ones are always those bound to the fate of the nation—collectively known as: red-hat merchants.

Running international business, yet owning an estate in Songhai, where every inch of land costs a fortune—without a doubt, Zhou Dong must belong to that category.

Remember what Ma Daddy once said?

If the banks don't change, we will change the banks.

The very next day he stepped off the stage of history, sold off his shares, and fled abroad overnight.

Put bluntly, that's the nation's job—if you fight to do it yourself, isn't that seizing power? Of course they'd come after you.

Zhou Dong, on the other hand, was clearly on the nation's side.

"The one lying in bed is his daughter, right?" Yu Dazhang asked again:

"She looks pretty young. How come you two are so close?"

(End of chapter)